But the most intriguing feature of the Pixel Buds is the integrated Google Translate feature. Demoed on stage at Google’s event today, this feature lets two Pixel Bud wearers chat in their native languages by translating conversations in real time. In the demo, a native English speaker and a native Swedish speaker had a conversation with each other, both using their native languages. Google Translate translated the languages for each user. There was barely any lag time in between the speaker saying a phrase and the Buds’ hearing those words and translating them into the appropriate language.

The electromechanical interlockings that controlled train movements at railroad crossings, for instance, only had so many configurations; a few sheets of paper could describe the whole system, and you could run physical trains against each configuration to see how it would behave. Once you’d built and tested it, you knew exactly what you were dealing with.

Software is different. Just by editing the text in a file somewhere, the same hunk of silicon can become an autopilot or an inventory-control system. This flexibility is software’s miracle, and its curse.~ The Atlantic

My wife came with me. Earlier in the week, I had mentioned to her that I wanted to go into Princeton. I had an eye for the weekly photo challenge. I put it off all week but on Thursday I finally said to her, “Let’s do it tonight”.

I was disappointed. There was much less traffic than I expected and the streets seemed bereft of people. I thought that the streets would be filled with local, tourist and students walking around and patronizing the local bars and restaurants. But not this night.

I parked on Witherspoon Street. This was unusual. On a busy night, traffic is hard to find in Princeton. Normally I park in the Spring Street parking deck. This was further proof that tonight would be a slow night.

Why did any of that matter? My vision for the weekly challenge was to photograph the cars and people walking by on Nassau Street. We walked up Witherspoon Street and crossed Nassau Street to the gates of Princeton University.

I set up the tripod, framed the shot of Hamilton Jewelers, and waited. The traffic was light and there was only a little foot traffic. My wife and I conversed with passing students who were curious as what I was doing. It must have seemed strange to them; a man with a camera on a tripod photographing what seemed to be empty space.

I shot at 10, 15, 20, and 30 seconds exposures. My wife and I walked over to Washington Road and I took a few shots of the water feature near the Woodrow Wilson School. We watched a young woman walk barefoot through the water. Some students were sitting and conversing on the far end, enjoying the chill, but not cold, air.

We slowly walked back to the car.

Corner of Witherspoon & Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ

In Lightroom, I made my picks and pulled them into Photoshop. I blended the layers – two images – to make this one image. The final image is the featured image for this post.

Corner of Witherspoon & Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ

Each Wednesday, The Daily Prompt Photo Challenge provides a theme for creative inspiration. Participants take photographs based on their interpretation of the theme, and post them on their blog anytime before the following Wednesday.

Is duplicating files on a Mac something that most people do every day? Is that something I’ve been missing out on? Is this the major use case for moving from HFS+ to APFS?

Duplicating files with APFS is jarring. I keep waiting for the progress bar but it never shows up, because it’s not necessary. (APFS doesn’t need to save until you make changes to the copy.) ~ MacSparky

The biggest advertising organizations say Apple will “sabotage” the current economic model of the internet with plans to integrate cookie-blocking technology into the new version of Safari.
I certainly hope so.